The municipality of The Hague recently stopped using machines to clean a large stretch of beach, the Groene Strand (north of Zwarte Pad). This is much better for the environment. To keep the beach clean, the municipality, together with Coastal Gym, is organizing the free activity “BeachClean & Workout,” where participants exercise and pick up litter.
Alderman Robert Barker (Green): “The beach is often not seen as a nature reserve. That’s unfair, because there’s a lot of life on the beach too. Machines that clean beaches often damage all sorts of natural processes. As the municipality of The Hague, we want to better protect this natural environment. That’s why we’re no longer cleaning part of the beach, the Green Beach, by machine.”
Space for nature
With the adoption of the beach vision, mechanical cleaning of sections of the beach will be discontinued. These nature zones will give the beach and dunes the opportunity to develop naturally. “Shells and other natural materials that wash ashore provide food for a lot of life on the beach. By leaving this behind, birds have more to eat. It also creates a more peaceful environment for both people and animals.”
BeachClean & Workout
With the free BeachClean & Workout activity on the Green Beach, also known as Pullka, participants combine a workout with picking up litter. Pullka is a beach sport in which you pull a sled (pullka) across the sand. During the workout, you do strength exercises and cardio while collecting litter that doesn’t belong on the beach. The pilot program is part of The Hague’s campaign “Clean, let’s just do it anyway.”
To take part, you need to subscribe to a Coastal Gym session, more information here (in Dutch)
https://coastalgym.nl/abonnementen/
Image & text: Gemeente Den Haag. Translation: The Hague Online